He collapsed in the shower in his student flat in east London amid claims that he had worked through the night eight times in two weeks in an attempt to impress bosses, returning home at 6am on three consecutive days. His office day began at 9am. It has been claimed that he suffered an epileptic fit.

In an online profile, Mr Erhardt, from Germany, had previously written of a tendency to be ‘‘overambitious’’. He said: ‘‘I have grown up in a family that expected me, in whatever respect, to excel in life. By implication, I felt somehow pressurised. However, I did not intend to belie my parents’ expectations.

‘‘Therefore, I have become a highly competitive and ambitious nature from early on.’’

On internet message boards used by City staff there were claims that other interns had been ordered not to discuss Mr Erhardt’s death. One contributor wrote: ‘‘One of the best interns in IBD BAML - three all-nighters - didn’t turn up, colleagues went to find him.’’

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Another claimed he had been told by someone who worked on the same floor as Mr Erhardt: ‘‘He was working very, very, very long hours (as in 4 days spent almost without sleeping).’’

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An intern who lived in his block said: ‘‘Apparently he pulled eight all-nighters in two weeks. They get you working crazy hours and maybe it was just too much for him.’’

Colleagues described him as a ‘‘superstar’’ who was very focused and had been ‘‘tipped for greatness’’.

Scotland Yard said that it was not treating the death as suspicious.

A Bank of America spokesman refused to discuss the claims about Mr Erhardt’s working hours. He said: ‘‘There is an order of process here. We are making sure our interns are fine and we will then have to consider what the lessons are from this. If there are things to be learnt we will see what we can do.’’

The bank said in a statement: ‘‘[Mr Erhardt] was popular amongst his peers and was a highly diligent intern at our company with a promising future. Our first thoughts are with his family and we send our condolences to them at this difficult time.’’

Mr Erhardt is understood to have been paid around £6000 ($10,340) for the internship. He was discovered last Thursday evening by a flatmate in Bethnal Green. Paramedics were unable to resuscitate him.

His parents were understood to be travelling to London from their home in Freiburg, near the Swiss border.

Mr Erhardt studied business administration as an exchange student at the highly regarded University of Michigan’s Stephen M Ross School of Business before attending WHU Otto Beisheim School of Management in Vallendar, Germany, from which he was due to graduate next year.

He had completed placements at KPMG Consulting, Morgan Stanley, and in Deutsche Bank’s corporate finance division and wanted to work in strategy consulting.

In his online profile, he said he wanted to help build a fairer, more peaceful and more humane world, adding: ‘‘That is what my character is all about.’’ He said: ‘‘With respect to my performance in school, I was striving for excellence and trying to be the best all the time.’’